Love & Romance. Culture factsheet

Transcription

1 Culture factsheet Love & Romance Wild and cultivated plants are often associated with gifts of love in our culture history. Wild plants play an important role in finding a lover or husband, preparing love potions, gifts for lovers, and in the customs of weddings and marriage. The rose is perhaps the most famous floral symbol of love but there are many other plants that are connected with romance and marriage. Love Charms: one of the simplest and most widespread love charms is the plucking of daisy petals to the rhyme he loves me, he loves me not. Picking the grains from the rye grass or darnel stalk was used for the rhyming verse designed to find the nature of your future husband tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief. Yarrow is one of the plants that occurs as a herb for divining your future husband in many parts of Britain, although ivy, plantain, marigold, thyme, and wormwood have also been used in these love divining charms. Mistletoe has also been used to predict the likelihood of marriage. Oberon in Shakespeare s Midsummer Night s Dream uses wild pansy, or heartsease to make a love potion for Titania the Queen of the Fairies, and Ophelia wears long purples (probably Orchis mascula), which is associated with love potions, in her death garland. Orchids were called Satyrion by the early herbalists because they were believed to have been the food of the Satyrs of Greek mythology and associated with their sexual excesses. Willow garlands were sometimes associated with slighted lovers, as were columbines for forsaken or cuckolded husbands.

2 Burning the Nuts: in his poem Halloween Robert Burns refers to the old custom of burning the nuts, in which each hazelnut was named for a boy or girl and laid in the fire, and if they burned quietly together or jumped apart that would be the course of the romance The auld guidwife s weelhoordet nits Are round an round divided, And monie lads and lasses fates Are there that night decided: Some kindle, couthie, side by side, An burn the gither trimly; Some start awa wi saucy pride, And jump out-owre the chimlie. Fu high that night. The Language of Flowers: a guide to the Language of Flowers as a means of communicating secret feelings through the sending of flowers or combinations of flowers, was published by Charlotte de Latour in France in 1819 and grew in popularity throughout the Victorian period. Queen Victoria in the first years of her marriage wore ivy leaves and diamonds in her hair to symbolise married love and fidelity. It has never lost its popularity and was part of the recent royal wedding ceremonies of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Bridal Garlands & Wreaths: bridal garlands and wreaths of wild flowers have been used in many cultures across the world and are still commonly used today. It was a Roman custom to burn hazel torches during the day of a wedding, and the hawthorn was associated with weddings in ancient Greece, while in Germany the myrtle has long been part of wedding ceremonies. In Britain there was a custom of strewing herbs on the path from the betrothed s homes to the church for their wedding. Meadowsweet is sometimes called bridewort for its use as a strewing herb and bouquet herb at weddings. Rings made from rushes were used in country weddings and sometimes in mock marriages. The Bishop of Salisbury felt obliged to issue an order banning the use of rush wedding rings in the 13 th century but it seems as if the practice continued until at least the 18 th century. In Yorkshire meadowsweet was called Courtship and Marriage because its flowers are sweet smelling but its leaves have a bitter scent. Greek and Roman Mythology: Greek and Roman mythology is filled with instances of lovers or those fleeing from amorous advances being turned into plants.

3 For example Krokos (the youth beloved of Hermes), Daphne chased by Apollo, Hyancinthos beloved of Apollo, and Mekon the beloved of Demeter was turned into a poppy. There is also the story of Pyramis and Thisbe, the ill-fated lovers whose blood turned the mulberry from white to red. Venus the goddess of love is also associated with a range of wild flowers including the rose, Venus slipper (Cypripedium calceolus), and Venus hair fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris). Famous Lovers: famous lovers of the past have been associated with particular wild plants. Romeo compares his beautiful but unknown love with the rose, and the aconite may have been the poison that kills Juliet. Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn had a private motif of intertwined honeysuckle and acorns symbolising their initials and the hoped-for fertility of their union. Josephine, the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte famously favoured sweet violets and he placed a bouquet on her grave on his return from Elba. References & online resources: Eland, S. Plant Lives Website ( Mabey, R., 1984, Flora Britannica Mac Coitir, N., 2008, Irish Wild Plants: Myths, Legends and Folklore Milliken,W. & Bridgewater, S., 2004, Flora Celtica Friend, H., 1883, Flowers and Flower Lore Plants of Greek Mythology ( Flora1.html) Some of the plants associated with love, romance & marriage Aconite (Monk s Hood) (Aconitum napellus) - This may have been the poison that killed Juliet in Shakespeare s play Birch (Betula pendula) - Associated with love and constancy in Wales Bracken (Pteridium aquilinum) - In the Scottish Highlands 9 fern stems were used in a love potion and in England it was believed that if a woman put a leaf of bracken gathered on St John s Eve in a man s left shoe he would love her

4 Butterwort (Pinguicula vulgaris) - In Scotland it was believed that if a woman made the butterwort into a loop, put it into her mouth, and made a man kiss her, he would be bound to her Clover (4 leaved) (Trifolium species) - A Somerset tradition is that if you find a four leaved clover you will find your true love Columbine (Aquilegia species) - Sometimes associated with scorned lovers or cuckolds Crocus (Crocus species) - The beautiful youth Krokos beloved of Hermes, was turned into the crocus flower when he died Daisy (Bellis perennis) - The petals are plucked off to the rhyme he loves me, he loves me not Dandelion (Taraxacum species) - The number of puffs it took to blow the seeds away was the number of years before you were married Darnel or Rye Grass (Lolium temulentum or Lolium species) - Sometimes used with the rhyme tinker tailor, soldier sailor to find out your future husband Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis) - If you take buds about to open and give them each the name of a suitor, the one that becomes the best flower would be the best suitor Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) - Associated with weddings in ancient Greece Hazel (Coryllus avellana) - Hazel torches were burned at Roman weddings. Burns writes of the tradition of assessing your future lover by placing hazelnuts in the fire Heartsease (wild pansy) (Viola tricolour) - Used to make a love potion in Shakespeare s Midsummer Night s Dream, also has many names associated with love such as love in idleness Honeysuckle (Lonicera periclymenum) - One of private plant motifs of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. In some parts of England it was thought to predict a wedding. Ivy (Hedera helix) - Used in charms to find your future husband in Ireland, and a symbol of married love and fidelity in the language of flowers Knapweed (Centaurea nigra) - In parts of England if you stripped the knapweed of its flowers, put it between your bosom, and in the morning it had regrown its blossom, your love was true

5 Lady s Slipper Orchid (Cypripedium calceolus) - Called Venus slipper in many parts of Europe Marigold (Calendula officinalis) - Part of a charm to find a lover (Friend 1883) Meadowsweet (Bridewort) (Filipendula ulmaria) - Used as a strewing herb in marriage ceremonies and sometimes in bouquets and garlands Mint (Mentha species) - Used as an ingredient in love charms in Ireland Mistletoe (Viscum album) - Used to predict future lovers and also associated with Christmas kisses Oak/acorns (Quercus species) - Part of the private motif of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn Orchids (Orchis species) - Formerly the roots were used in love potions in many parts of Britain, they are also associated with sexuality and the Satyrs of mythology Orpine (Sedum telephinum) - Used to predict the faithfulness of a lover Plantain (Plantago species) - Used in love charms to predict a lover Poppy (Papaver rhoeas) - The youth Mekon, beloved of Demeter was changed into a poppy when he died Rose (Rosa species) - The rose was the flower of Venus, it has long been a symbol of love and romance in many cultures. Rush (Juncus species) - Used to make wedding rings St John s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) - Used to find out who your lover would be Sundew (Drosera species) - In the Isle of Man it was called lus ny graih (Herb of Love) and young men would try and place it in their sweethearts clothes Thyme (Thymus species) - Sometimes used in love charms Venus hair fern (Adiantum capillus-veneris) - Called after the goddess of love, Venus Vervain (Verbena officinalis) - Formerly used as an aphrodisiac and in love potions

6 Violet (Sweet violet) (Viola odorata) - The flower that symbolised the love of Napoleon Bonaparte and Josephine Willow (Salix species) - Associated with scorned lovers Wormwood (Artemisia species) - Used in some love charms to find a lover Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) - Yarrow has been used in charms to divine a future lover/husband in many parts of Britain and Ireland Image of wild pansy Laurie Campbell This project is supported by the Culture Programme of the European Union